Website Maintenance Day

 

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Website in maintenance, please come back later.

Due to the reason known to all, our website has started maintenance and upgrade from June 2ed, therefore strike is on for three days. Sorry for the inconvenience, please excuse us.

Animal Abuse for the Kids - CCTV Shows No Remorse

Last June, CCTV Children's Channel put on a show featuring ostrich riding in the Dynamic Community program. A netizen Changchun Guomao wrote an article titled Surprisingly Uncivilized Act in CCTV Children's Channel to express his criticism and question. The article aroused feverish discussion on the internet following many reprints online, people reprimanded such act of bird abusing, and held it as extremely inappropriate. In a media interview with a chief of CCTV general editing office, the chief offered his apologize and sworn that "We and the channel will upgrade the supervision, rooting out any reappearance of such game program in the Children's Channel!" However, it is rather deplorable that in less than a year, something went even farther revisited the screen.

Ostrich Riding Show from Last June

March 13th, Changchun Guomao saw that CCTV Children's Channel produced and presented a show named Animal Sports Day for the Open, Sesame! program.


Open, Sesame!


Animal Sports Day


"Let's cheer for the animal players!"

In the show, animals gave their "performances" for the kids. In addition to traditional ones like Monkey Cycling, Elephant Play Hula Hoop and Sealion Ball Balancing, the Ostrich Riding Contest made to the screen again, two youths with strong figure and a girl dashing through the field on the ostriches and hitted the poor animals on the back.


100-meter Dash

But the most amazing stuff comes later, the directors designed a unique event - Piglet High Platform Diving. There is an old Chinese saying goes - drive a duck onto a perch, which means to make somebody do something entirely beyond him. Here we go driving pigs to dive, an unseen scenario but on CCTV Children's Channel. A flock of piglets were forced onto the high platform, who are obviously frightened, and tried to move back, but the people in their back beated them to jump off the platform like dumplings fall into pot, while the kids on the ground were applauding and cheering! The author just couldn't bear this atrocious "game" anymore, the splash must be mixed with the tears of humiliation and anger of the piglets.


High Platform Jump, participant: piglets








the cheering kids

Source: 长春国贸的博客 Changchun Guomao's Blog (Guomao: international trade)
Not a verbatim translation

Ten Thundering Proposals from the Two Conferences

*Two Conferences: the National People's Congress and the Chinese Political Consultative Conference)

*Thundering: internet slang, means shockingly ridiculous in this context.

1. Feminine Spirit in Response to the Financial Crisis

Zhang Xiaomei - member of the CPPCC National Committee, President of the China Beauty Fashion Newspaper

"The origin of the Global Financial Crisis is the unbalanced profit seeking and over expansion by the financial institutions of the developed countries. In the modern world, wars can not be eliminated, and Global Warming has increasingly become a problem besetting humanity, and they are both the outcome of might-chasing and hegemony-seeking masculine mentality prevailing over the society. However, women, under the global economic bleakness, is a bright and warm radiance."

According to her blog, the proposal has been endorsed by nearly a hundred members of the CPPCC National Committee such as Wan Shanhong, Li Ling and Shu Ting, etc.

2. Migrant Works to Reclaim Frontier Regions

Fang Xingyao - member of the CPPCC National Committee,Vice-chairman of the Bishops' Conference of Catholic Church in China

"Enormous uncultivated lands are left in the frontier provinces of Xinjiang, Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolian and Qinghai, etc., which is a astonishing waste of resource. Therefore, it is suggested to the Central Government that a great number of migrant works should be organised to reclaim lands in abovementioned provinces in a view to developing agriculture."

3. Difficulties in Medical Security is a Misguidance

From several Committee members in medical and health circle

"There is no difficulty or over-pricing in the Medical Security system in China, the problem is the unduly high standards by patiences when seeking medical care, which leads to a 'jam' in the distribution of medical resources. And a definition should be given to the 'Difficulties and Over-pricing in Medical Security', a standard has to be established."

4. Stimulate Economic Growth by Wearing Han Costume

Yan Chengzhong - CPC member, professor of Shanghai Donghua University

Proposed a motion of "Chinese National Costume in Stimulating Economic and Cultural Industries", believed that ordinary people should be encourged to buy products of spiritual life, thus domestic demand will be boosted by creativity, and the National Costume is a commendable case.

5. Issue Bank Note of One Thousand Yuan

Zhu Zhengfu - member of the CPPCC National Committee,vice-president of Guangdong Bar Association

Zhu Zhengfu believed that there are three advantages of RMB with large face value: 1. people will have more money in their wallets, then have more desire to spend it, and the impulse will result in the booming of domestic demand; 2. more paper will be saved from being printed into bank note, which is a grace for environmental protection; 3. economize manpower, including printing, counting and escort.

6. Restore Traditional Characters in Ten Years

Pan Qinglin - member of the CPPCC National Committee

Proposed to do away with the simple characters and restore the use of tradtional charaters in ten years and in a staged manner, and asserted that the restoration is in favor of the Reunification. Online survey shows that nearly 60% of netizens expressed their opposition.

7. Paramour to be Claimed for Compensation in Divorce

Ma Lan - NPC member, president of the Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University

"Bigamy, cohabitation with paramour both involve a third party. It is obvious that the third party and the faulty spouse both violate the rights of the faultless party." Therefore, it is suggested that paramour is to be claimed for compensation in divorce.

8. Car Purchasing by Public Accumulation Fund

Zen Qinghong - NPC member, vice-chairman and general manager of Guangzhou Automobile

"Is is possible that the 400 billion yuan Housing Public Accumulation Fund can be used for car purchasing, then the Housing Public Accumulation Fund can also be Automobile Public Accumulation Fund", those who choose not to buy houses in the near future are able to use Public Accumulation Fund for car purchasing, and even after the houses are bought, Public Accumulation Fund can be used for the first car, it will be a great leverage for market potential.

9. Establish Offspring Pension Fund

Zhao Chao - NPC member, Director-general of Shanxi Buzhang Group

Offsprings before the age of 50, in their golden working period, take 3% of the salaries, and deposit into their parents pension funds, the ownership belongs to the parents, and will be their supply after retirement.

10. "The Spirit of Lei Feng" Applied for UNESCO Non-material Cultural Heritage

Liu Jianglong - member of the CPPCC National Committee, Deputy District Chief of Shapinba, Chongqin

He believes that "Follow the Good Example of Lei Feng" has been degraded to a formalism of commemeration. And he gave an example for explaination that on March 5th in some year and somewhere in China, serveral organisation sent an elder to a bathhouse for five times just for "Following the Good Example of Lei Feng".

Source: Guangzhou Daily

Californication

Dear Karen...
If you're reading this, it means I actually worked up the courage to mail it. So, good for me.
You don't know me very well but you get me started, I have a tendency to go on and on about how hard the writing is for me. But this... this is the hardest thing I've ever had to write. There's no easy way to say this, so I'll just say it. I met someone. It was an accident. I wasn't looking for it. I wasn't on the make. It was a perfect storm. She said one thing. I said another. Next thing I knew, I wanted to spend the rest of my life in the middle of that conversation. now there's this feeling in my gut.She might be the one. She's completely nuts...in a way that makes me smile -- highly neurotic. A great deal of maintenance required. She is you, Karen. That's the good news. The bad is that I don't know how to be with you right now. And it scares the shit out of me. Because if I'm not with you right now, I have this feeling we'll get lost out there. It's a big, bad world full of twists and turns, and people have a way of blinking and missing the moment...the moment that could've changed everything. I don't know what's going on with us, and I can't tell you why you should waste a leap of faith on the likes of me...but, damn, you smell good -- like home. And you make excellent coffee. That's got to count for something, right? Call me.

Unfaithfully Yours, Hank Moody.

Just finished Californication, quote something nice here as a momento.

WITCHCRAFT:BLIZZARD

If you ask me to name one advantage of living in China, the answer would definitely be: You can always have enough fun. And just when I had a exhausting schedule that almost squeezed out all joy in my February, SAIC decided to make a difference, by turning down the trademark registration application for the upcoming blockbuster STARCRAFT:GHOST by Blizzard, because it "advocate superstition".
Here is a rough and abbreviated translation from 中国法院网：
Blizzard Entertainment, the famous American game company, applied to SAIC for registering its yet-to-be-born work STARCRAFT:GHOST as a Trademark of Cyber Athlete Service, which was then rejected by the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board of SAIC for it was suspected of advocating superstition. Soon, blizzard lodged a complaint at the First Intermediate People's Court of Beijing, requesting the decision dismissed. This morning, your correspondent learned from the court that Blizzard's request was not supported.
About the rejection, SAIC gave us a reason that "STARCRAFT:GHOST comes under the kind of words that tend to produce negative influence, for containing the meaning of astrology and spirit, which are overtly against socialist moral standards.
The Review and Adjudication Board also believed that trademark, saving for its function of expressing commodity source, plays a role of cultural publication and guidance, therefore nothing that may brings negative impact can be let pass. And the "astrology and ghost" is in violation of socialist moral standards under any circumstances, which if not stopped, may lead to a flood of trademarks of similar vicious nature.
Following the overrule, Blizzard submitted various explanations and evidences to prove its innocence. But, still ...
It was learned that Blizzard appealed to the higher court.

I am back!

Sorry that I haven't updated this blog for half an month, it's not that I lost my interest so quickly, I just had been on a business trip for 13 days as a interpreter. The project is called "German Financial Cooperation with the PR China - Sustainable Forest Management Project in Hubei Province", not a leisured job, but still interesting. We climbed mountains without paths, entered forests that densely covered with undergrowth, and those endless meetings and workshop, Oh! and never forget those really nice and capable people, seen from now, are all cherished memory. Hope to see you again, guys and gals. ^_^
Anyway, I am back! I'll try to update something everyday, despite the fact that another assignment ( an Environment Evaluation Report, about 50 thousand characters @_@) will virtually take all my time, some of my eyesight.
So, later~

2008 Chinese Internet Slang Glossary，Part II

7. 很傻很天真
Simple and Naïve

Definition: Sarcasm, similar to its literal meaning, ridicules acts or ideas that someone disapproves.

Origin: After the Edison Chen Photo Scandal, the leading lady Gillian Chung made an announcement:” I admit I was once simple and naïve, but now I’m already a grown up.” Netizens jeered at it, and mischievous distortions were all over the internet, making these words insanely epidemic.

e.g.: You took that seriously？How simple and naïve!


8. 囧 Jiǒng

Definition: Originally means light or bright, but because its shape resembles a helpless, brows-knitting face, people use it to express melancholy, sorrow, helplessness, wordlessness, and other emotion.

Origin: Although it was an ancient Chinese character, the source of its popularity was Japan, After spreading to China, people use it together with Orz (a Japanese emoticon representing a kneeling or bowing person, showing failure and despair), as囧rz, began its popularity among anime fans from 2004.


9. 雷
Thunder

Definition: Accidentally saw something unpleasant, feeling intensive discomfort.

Origin: Being thundered. Japanese Anime, electrified, representing intensive electric shock, used when anime fans see something surprising or nasty, they are “electrified”, or “thundered”.

e.g.: She was unfortunate enough to be well thundered by the novel, crisp skin and tender meat.


10. 山寨
Mountain Village (counterfeit)

Definition：Piracy or forgery

Origin: An industrial phenomenon launched by folk IT force, leaped into mass attention under the name of “Mountain village mobile phone”, hereafter, derivatives such as mountain village stars, mountain village buildings emerges endlessly.
Even came out the Mountain Village Dream of the Red Chamber, the Mountain Village Lecture Room, etc. Such amateur activities are called Mountain Village Culture, and are deemed as a popular fighting spirit against authorities and elites.

e.g.: The Mountain Village Spring Festival Night not only enjoys online live broadcast, even TV stations offer rebroadcasting contracts.